My Life In Hell
by Makori
Summary: After Jak was banished, what happens in the time before he returns? Three soldiers rise up and turn the tide of war, clearing the way for the Time Warrior himself. Rated for Violence, Language and suggestive scenes. Later romance.
1. The South Town Garrison

(A/N; Okay, since my last Jak story was a flop, I decided to try again. This is just sort a preview, I won't be releasing chapters very fast, but they will be here, and they will be long! Let me know if you want anything fixed. Will take constructive criticism, but flames wil only heat my fireplace, keeping my fingers warm as I type. /Pardon the pun\)

**My Life in Hell**

The South Town barracks always was one of the best places to pick up on news.

Thin trails of smoke wafted out of the open window of the building they'd cleared out, which also served as a magazine bunker. To put it simply and bluntly, the men slept on crates of ammo. Not the most comfortable mattresses in the world.

Currently, the soldiers of Alpha Company, most of them green recruits, were sitting there, having a smoke. Regulations said to be wearing body armor at all times in case of attack, but everyone had taken their helmets off to get their cigarettes into their mouths.

The door opened, revealing the rainstorm that had gone on for two days straight, and another soldier in blue armor trooped in, a bullet wound in his thigh. Not expecting the hazy air, his eyes watered, even behind his goggles, and he coughed, despite the re-breather/life support pack he wore over his mouth. Currently, the vents on the air system were open in order to conserve the oxygen in the small tank in between his shoulder blades. All the soldiers in the barracks looked up at the new arrival as the man took off his helmet, waving his hand around.

"Mar and Precursors, how many times do I have to tell you guys to ventilate this place every time you smoke?"

One of the soldiers jerked a hand over his shoulder towards the window, snapping back "We left that window open, so don't start bitching to us, Vex."

Vex, a Lieutenant, grew red in the face and, taking a step forward on his good leg, slapped the soldier upside the head, snarling "Just who do you think you're talking to, Private! I told you to ventilate this room, so ventilate it!"

Another soldier, one of the few who wasn't smoking, got up and shoved another window fully open, then turned on the air conditioner.

"At least you've got a good head on your shoulders, Digit." Vex said, sighing and limping over to his 'bunk' which was simply a stack of rifle ammunition.

The soldier named Digit said nothing, sitting back down, bright blue eyes down on the floor.

A dark-skinned teenaged soldier named Scope piped up next, flicking the nub of his cigarette out the window and lighting a new one while he spoke. "Man, homies! When's this war gonna end! I mean, the farmland's gone, the Metal Head's have their nest practically right on top of us, and the KGs are narrowing us down every day! And now look!" He jabbed his cigarette at Vex, who was opening a Green Eco Medkit and applying it to his leg wound. "Vex is one of the best shooters among us, and he's taken a KG bullet!"

At this, everyone smiled, slightly. Scope was actually the best man with a rifle that they had, earning him his name. Vex had even admitted once that the teen was better than him.

Scope continued.

"He's lucky not to have been killed! All those slugs are coated in like two or three layers of armor piercing material. Have any of you ever picked up a KG slug that missed?"

All the other soldiers, used to Scope's crazy ranting, shook their heads boredly. The next statement got their attention, though.

"It's, like, twenty-two millimeters thick! Just getting hit by one of those should kill you, no matter where it goes!"

Shocked looks and murmurs flew through the group as Scope leaned back and took a drag on his cigarette.

Digit looked up, rubbing the back of his neck. His bleached, spiked hair was damp, and he didn't want to disrupt the gel, so he rubbed the hair on the top of his neck to have something to do.

Another soldier piped up, cigarette bobbing up and down as he spoke. "Well, then what the hell are we still doing with pump rifles? Figured they might have given us some of those fancy morph guns they use in training, but NOOOO, we just have to get stuck with the least powerful and most suckiest guns in the world!"

Agreement went around at this. Another soldier, this one with his auburn hair in a long ponytail reaching down over his support pack, stood and, purposefully changing the subject, said "Well, think about it. Why the hell did you guys sign up to fight if all you're going to do is gripe?"

Digit sighed, leaning forward until his elbows sat propped on his knees. Angus always supported the guard, no matter what they did. He'd even supported the Krimzon Guard when the Baron was in power.

Angus went on "I mean, what did you come out here for?"

There were several mutterings of 'I was drafted,' a few of 'To get out of the house,' and one of 'Because my pop was in the Krimzon Guard.'

Angus looked Digit over, but the bleach-head said, quietly "Because I had nowhere else to go."

Nobody heard him, however. Nobody really ever paid any attention to him.

"Well, I'll tell you boys something; I came here on my own. No one forced me, I didn't feel the need to leave. Instead, I felt the need, hell, the DUTY to protect this city."

Before Angus could go on with his appraising speech, however, an alarm sounded, and flashing red lights filled the barracks.

"We're under attack! Take your stations!" shouted Vex, grabbing his rifle and helmet, then dashing out while everyone else scrambled to do the same. About thirty men, most of them teens, followed after him with shouts of "Let's get 'em!"

"Death to Metal Heads!"

"Let's kicks their nuts and bolts!"

Digit was the last one to run out, still loading his rifle. He was always last for everything, but it didn't matter to him.

The first few men had already engaged the attack, a battalion of KG Deathbots, and were already taking casualties. Vex pressed a button on his helmet, activating the communicator inside.

"This is Lt. Vex! Alpha Company's being overrun at point Whiskey! Need reinforcements at Zone 5-5-2-1-3-9! Over!"

The response couldn't be heard by anyone else over the gunfire, but it seemed to satisfy Vex, and he turned to his men, yelling "Alright boys! Hold 'em off! Reinforcements from HQ in five minutes!"

"Where's Bravo Company?" shouted another soldier, firing at a Gunpod that was floating towards their position.

"They're over dealing with the Metal Head front with Charlie! Delta's on the way, though!" Vex responded, smashing a Crawler that had gotten too close.

Everyone brightened at this. Delta was a company of grenade-launchers, which would definantly help with the robots.

A Deathbot, damaged but still operative, rolled around the wreckage of a few others, taking a few soldiers by surprise as it barreled through their front line. Unfolding right smack dab in the middle of them, it opened fire in all sorts of directions before it was taken down, allowing other Deathbots the opportunity to roll closer and open fire. The line of Freedom League soldiers was in disarray, everyone scrambling around, trying to fire at the red blurs they saw.

Vex was trying to give orders and get the company back under control when a bullet caught him in the throat, and he went down.

Digit fired around a scrap pile, then ducked back down as a Gunpod fired back at him. He peered back around, watching as more Deathbots appeared.

"Fall back!" shouted the Sergeant from Delta Company, and Alpha was only happy to comply.

The Deathbots, Gunpods, and Crawlers advanced, eating up ground like a Hip Hog in a corn crib.

Digit was rushing past Vex's body when he heard a tiny voice over the chaos. He looked down at Vex's helmet, then reached down and tore out the radio, holding it up to his own ear, only to hear **"Repeat, reinforcements NOT coming! There's a barrier on this side of the Industrial section! Only the KG robots can go through! Lt. Vex, are you there? Lieutenant, respond!"**

Digit felt the radio fall from his hand, heard the tinny voice being cut off as it smashed on the sidewalk, and felt dread in his heart.

No reinforcements.

An impassable barrier.

And overwhelming enemy numbers.

They were cut off from their command, being squeezed on both fronts, and had absolutely no hope.

A bullet whistled past his ear, forcing the teen to hit the sidewalk, firing behind him. A Deathbot caught the bullet in what looked like the head, blowing up instantly.

Digit, not wanting to look a gift Zorse in the mouth, scrambled for the rest of the guard, trying to hold their ground on the bridge. As soon as he managed to get behind the soldiers, he started running. He'd only made it two feet, however, before he ran, literally, into Scope. Being smaller, Digit only bounced off, flailing his arms to keep his balance.

"Where the hell are you going, Digit?" Scope yelled, looking like he was getting angry behind that mask.

"To the Gun Range!" Digit spat back, trying to get past again. He just didn't have time for this kind of bullshit.

"What? What for?" Scope snarled, knocking Digit back again.

At this, Digit, the normally quiet, secluded guy, blew up.

"THE REINFORCEMENTS AREN'T COMING! WE'RE ALSO CUT OFF FROM HQ, SO IF YOU WANT TO KILL US ALL, FINE BY ME!"

He stormed past again, and this time, Scope didn't stop him. After a second, he ran up to the smaller boy, hardly keeping pace. For such a little guy, just 5' 3", this kid could run faster than anyone else in the guard, even with his armor on.

"Well, I'm going with you! I'm thinking of trading this dumb shit for a Blaster!"

"And I'm going with you both!" said a voice behind them. Scope and Digit glanced back over their shoulders to find Angus running after them, huffing slightly to keep up.

"Fine by me," muttered Digit, as the Gun Range came into sight. "Just stay out of my way."

As soon as the door opened, all three teen soldiers rushed inside, barreling over a very shocked Tess, and went to three different gun racks.

Digit gave his rack a brief once-over before picking up a Scatter Gun, reaching into an ammo box and fitting a disk-shaped red magazine onto the top, working the pump to get the first round into place. Scope didn't hesitate to pick up a Blaster, fitting the cylinder shaped yellow magazine in and getting the round in place by releasing the trigger, letting the gun open it's breach. Angus took a little bit longer, scanning the guns over and over.

"Angus! Hurry up, dammit! Just grab a gun!" yelled Digit as he pulled the standard guard rifle's ammo out of his ammunition belt, replacing it with Scatter Gun ammo and grabbing a Plasmite RPG attachment. He wasn't sure what it actually was, but the five barrels convinced him he needed it.

Scope was standing by the door, waiting, while Angus finally hefted a Vulcan Fury gatling, fitting in the blue magazine and spinning the barrels for effect.

"Ok, I'm ready. Let's go!"

And all three were gone.

Tess, rubbing her head, picked herself up off the floor, looking around in bewilderment. Three guns, who knew how much ammo, and her experimental attachment were all gone. In their place were three standard issue rifles and a few magazines for them, all thrown on the floor. Tess shook her head, not quite believing it.

_'Wait 'till Torn hears about this.'_ she thought glumly. More red tape to fill out for more guns.

Outside, things were getting panicky. Alpha and Delta, having their numbers thinned significantly, were in full retreat. As they ran past the second tower, trying to warn Bravo and Charlie, the Sergeant looked up, seeing three flashes of blue pass him. He looked back over his shoulder to see three soldiers running toward the horde of robots.

_'Holy shit,'_ he thought _'They're mad!'_

In fact, Digit was feeling quite crazy at the moment. He felt that only a crazy person should be doing this sort of thing, and so, he assumed he had gone mad the instant he had picked up Vex's radio.

He finally slowed down, then stopped, allowing first Scope, then Angus to catch up with him as they all saw their opposition.

At least three lines deep, the company of KG Deathbots marched towards them, guns raised and ready, waiting to get in range. Gunpods flew overhead, their camera lenses zooming in on the three blue figures, locking on. Several Crawlers scuttled among the legs of the Deathbots, eager to get up front. All of the robots had one thing on their computerized minds; annihilate the men in blue.

Angus applied pressure slightly to the trigger of his gun, letting the barrels rotate a bit, but not fire. Scope knelt down, activating the laser sights and spotting a little red dot appear on the head of the first Deathbot. Digit brought his Scatter Gun up, drawing a deep breath.

This was do or die time, and Digit knew the result would probably be the latter.

To hell with it though. He didn't fear death.

There was nothing left for him.

With a shout, he gave the command; "OPEN FIRE!"

Immediately, there came a fusillade from Angus' Vulcan as Scope opened up with the Blaster. Digit, slightly closer to the column than the other two, squeezed the trigger, and the gun bucked, knocking several Deathbots back, and destroying two or three Crawlers and Gunpods. The lines were being thinned as they kept up the fire on the enemy, calling for cover fire from each other when they had to reload. They were only forced to give up a small piece of ground, but that was because at one point they'd all had to reload at the same time. However, the KG numbers finally grew smaller and smaller until there were only three or four Deathbots left, and all three were running low on ammo.

Digit jammed a new magazine in, then attached the RPG attachment in desperation, taking aim only briefly before pulling the trigger. A red grenade flew out of the top barrel as they all rotated, ready to fire the next grenade.

The explosive flew towards the robots, detonating on impact and destroying the remainder. All three covered their goggled eyes to protect them from the flash, then looked back up when no more shots flew their way. All that remained of the column was a heap of scrap junk.

There was silence.

No gunshots, no yells; nothing.

And then, a scratchy voice made scratchier on a loudspeaker.

**"You three! I want you to come to the Naughty Ottsel! NOW!!"**


	2. Naughty Ottsel Briefing

(A/N: Ok, thanks to some supporting, and one slightly disturbing, reviews I have decided to keep this fic going! Enjoy!)

**My Life in Hell**

The Naughty Ottsel used to be a bar, which had used to be the Hip Hog Heaven Saloon. No one could remember what it had been before that. Nobody really wanted to know.

Right now, it was the last place Digit wanted to be.

As the doors slid open, the three teens pulled off their helmets, stuffing them under their arms while their guns dangled from their hands.

Lieutenant General Torn, more often known as simply Commander, was standing behind the holographic battle map/giant communicator, watching a holographic map of the port. It took a few seconds, but Digit realized that he was replaying their valiant stand, taking note of the numbers, weapons and positions of every blip on screen.

Finally, Torn shut off the device, looking up at the trio with contempt in his eyes.

"You three," he snarled, crossing his arms over his chest, "Are in DEEP shit."

Understatement of the day.

"Shuck them irons," the red-head sneered, pointing towards a crate sitting next to a booth.

The teens did as they were told, tossing their guns into the box, then waiting while Torn looked them over.

About ten minutes passed in silence. Torn just kept glaring at them.

Finally, just when Digit was about to throw caution to the wind and say something, the commander spoke.

"Good. You're patient. That's exactly what I need from you three."

Frowning, each of the teens' eyes flicked to their comrades', but no one uttered a word. Torn continued, though.

"Since the second Tess called in, saying three soldiers had stolen some firearms, the first thing I thought of was punishing you."

This made no connection in the teens' heads with what the red-head had said earlier, but the soldiers let his speak his piece.

"But then I thought 'How?' I couldn't just whip you and take away any privileges, because we don't have any anymore, seeing as how we're cut off from civilization. I couldn't kill you or even kick you out, since we needed all the men we could get. And then I saw you boys fight. Against overwhelming odds, you managed to beat the enemy so soundly, they'll be hearing it all the way back up at that factory of theirs! If we had more men that could fight like that, hell, we'd be cornering the KG in their own factory before they knew what hit 'em!"

There was a brief light in his eyes, something like…admiration? Pride? Before Digit could tell, it was gone again.

Torn continued, though, as if nothing had happened.

"The way you boys adapted to those weapons instantly as well as the situation gave birth to the solution of a problem I've had since day one of the war."

Torn walked back over the holo-communicator, activating it and beckoning the teens over. They glanced at each other, all with confused frowns on their faces, then stepped over, leaning against the edge.

Torn searched through a few files, then keyed something in. An image of a Hellcat flickered into existence, and Torn indicated something that was different about it than the others; it had a turret mounted on the back, above the anti-armor cannons, used for taking out Blastbots quickly.

Digit frowned. He had seen that sort of Hellcat before.

It was Scope, though, who piped up. "Hey, I seen that!" he yelled, pointing. "The Elite Krimzon Guard used those. Only six were ever made, though!"

Torn nodded, then hit another button. The image flickered to one of three soldiers in uniforms standing next to the Hellcat. The image, being colorless, showed nothing really special, except for the fact that the men were all officers. Torn spoke before anyone could do anything.

"These men were the Freedom League's Special Forces Unit. We were always trying to find good men for it, but none of the soldiers, save them, were tough enough to stand even training. This unit didn't last very long, though. They were killed when the Palace fell."

Torn flicked another image to show an aerial view of the Agricultural section, smashed and ruined by the palace. Torn zoomed in on a particular area, exposing the Hellcat with it's cockpit crushed by a large chunk of rubble.

The commander deactivated the holo-communicator, then faced the teen soldiers with an odd smirk on his face.

And then came the words that changed all their lives.

"We've never been able to find recruits worthy enough to take their places. However, I think I just may have. Boys, I think you have the guts, the determination," he ticked off the traits on his fingers. "The speed, and just plain insanity to make it in Special Forces."

Three sets of jaws dropped. Digit's eyes were wide. He'd never, NEVER, been paid any special attention, never stood out except for being the outcast. And now, here was the opportunity of a lifetime. Torn continued, seemingly unaware of the shock his three young soldiers were feeling.

"I won't lie to you, boys. The training will be harsh. I know, I went through it as a Krimzon Guard. However, the rewards, the thrill, doing your job and duty…it's all worth it." He turned back to them, a small smile on his face. "Whaddya say?"

There was only a moments hesitation, and a glance between the teens before they all yelled the same words;

"HELL YEAH!"

The clip paused, and an angry Ashelin turned back to the holo-communicator in the Freedom League HQ. Torn's face was projected, since he had just told her the news. Her fist pounded the metal of the projector that was displaying the digital file that had just been e-mailed to her.

"How could you do this Torn! You felt that you had the right to go ahead and promote three of the WORST potential recruits into Special Forces! I'll bet that the smaller one's not even fifteen yet!"

Torn's image shook it's head, saying "Ashelin, if you had seen what I'd seen, you would be agreeing with me."

"Don't give me that shit! I watched the battlefield images, I've even looked up the _boys'_ data. The younger one's still a Private, and you want to promote him to Lieutenant!"

Torn's image sighed, saying "You know the code; all soldiers HAVE to be officers. Would you rather I promoted him to Captain like the other two?"

"No, I don't want you to promote them at all! The other two should have been demoted and the younger one put into non-combat duty! Any other soldier could have replaced him."

Torn shook his head again and said "Ashelin, listen to me. LOOK at me, dammit."

Reluctantly, her eyes went over to his, holographic though they were.

"We're losing, you know that. All we can do is sit back here on our asses while they come at us. We're blocked on both fronts. The Metal Head nest is protected by a Dark Eco wall that only those monsters can go through, and with the new barriers up in the Industrial Section, there's no hope for us down here, and if you lose us here, all you've got left are the men up in the Slums. How many are left, Ashelin?"

"Enough," she snapped.

"HOW MANY?"

This time, it took her a few tries, but she finally got it out.

"Two thousand, okay?"

Torn's image nodded, as if he already knew it.

"And with the three hundred or so we've got down here, we're outnumbered at least four-to-one. Ashelin, if we don't do something soon, we're all going to die. I believe that these boys are the answer we've been looking for."

Ashelin sighed. Torn always did have that way of convincing her that he was right.

"Fine," she said. "Put them through the training. I wouldn't put my money on the small one though."

If only she knew what was coming in the future.

(Parting Shot: I said later romance because I meant it. However, I'm still trying to think of good couple combinations, something everyone will like. Here's what I've narrowed it down to; 1. Keep the regular couples and make some more OCs. 2. Put Jak and Ashelin together, Torn and Kiera together, and STILL make some OCs. 3. Put some of the girls with the soldier boys, then STILL make some OCs for the loose ends. Tell me! I'll listen!)


	3. Training Day One: Digit

(A/N: None! On with the shit!)

**My Life in Hell**

Digit threw the last of his things into his bag, then threw it over his shoulder, glancing around the barracks one last time. Scope had already finished, but Angus was packing slowly, as if treasuring everything he had, and he had a lot more than most of the soldiers in the South Town Garrison, as this part of the army was called. Angus also had one of the few things that not a lot of soldiers did have; a family. Not just his parents, but also his newly-wed wife. This guy had everything. So why did he sign up to fight? He'd said something about duty, but Digit thought it was something different.

At last, as Angus packed away the last of his possessions and slung the bag over his shoulder, the three prepared to leave. As the doors slid open, however, they were faced with an unexpected sight; the remainder of Alpha, Beta, Charlie, and Delta Companies were all waiting outside for them.

Since the last battle, their numbers had been whittled down from three hundred and fourteen to two hundred and nine. Digit immediately felt guilty for leaving these men here to fight, but he knew that in order to stop the war in the best way they could, they had to go.

The sergeant from Delta, Sgt. Langston, stepped forward, removing his helmet and shaking his hair loose.

"So, you boys are gone, huh?"

It was a question that didn't need to be answered, and Langston wasn't expecting one, so he continued.

"Well, me and the boys would like to show our appreciation. If it hadn't been for you three, well, we wouldn't be standing here right now."

The sergeant saluted, as did every other man. When Langston put his arm back down, the others didn't.

Langston stepped out of the way, pointing to the transport that would take them to Freedom League HQ, provided it survived the anti-aircraft fire it would undoubtedly encounter. As the three teens stepped towards it, every man, including Langston, removed their helmets and bent down on one knee. Digit, Scope and Angus were shocked to their cores. They never would have expected this much respect and admiration from their comrades.

Digit was the first to recover. With a deep breath, he applied a determined look to his face and walked towards the transport. After realizing where he was going, the other two quickly followed suit. As soon as all three were aboard, the craft began to take off, the rear door closing. All three soldiers took one last look at the men they had fought with for the past year or so. And then their view was obscured by the door as it shut with the hissing of compressing steam.

The journey was, unexpectedly, almost smooth.

Almost because, of course, they ran into fire from a few super-range sniper-cannons in the Industrial section. After that, the ride was pretty much uneventful. Guess even monsters and robots have to take a break from fighting once in a while.

After two hours of taking 'the safe route' out of the city and circling along the outside of the security walls, Digit was almost wishing that someone would attack.

Then, they all felt it. The unmistakable feeling of descent. They were landing at last.

Each soldier grabbed their duffel bags and firearms, ready for whatever welcoming party came to meet them, or so they thought.

The transport stopped, the door opened, and the teens were about to depart when they were met with a tattooed face.

Ashelin had been waiting for the transport for only five minutes, but even then she didn't really consider these men, these **boys**, worth half the time, so her patience with them was almighty thin.

"You're the new whelps, right?"

Before anyone could answer, she continued.

"I'll tell you three right now; this place isn't for you. This squad isn't for you, in fact I've scraped shit more worthy of it then you three off my boots. So listen up, cause here's how it's going to go. There's going to be six instructors teaching you what you need to know to survive, and all of them have orders to show no mercy. You'll never be together during these sessions; it's to teach you about getting strength from your deepest reservoirs."

Ashelin stuck out a fist, thumb up, and began counting things off on her fingers.

"First, there's firearms. Then, computers and technology. Flight lessons, mechanics, enemy identification, and hand-to-hand training."

She put her hand down, spat at their feet, then turned away with a "Good luck…you'll need it."

All in all, Digit thought she was a total bitch.

Scope watched her go with distaste. "Shit, we be having to fight for _her_? Man, what a bitch." Apparently, Digit's thoughts were not just his own.

She hadn't even told them of where their quarters were, which they'd found, after an hour of searching, in the Freedom League HQ, off in a separate room. Judging by the dust, there hadn't been anyone to disturb this place in years. The teens had found their new uniforms, yellow, with thin sheets of Precursor metal on the inside to offer extra protection from bullets, and each was about to go to their first session.

Digit's first one was hand-to-hand combat. Without directions, however, he was supposed to find the 'dojo' as he'd heard it called, on his own. So, as it was, he set out with the Scatter Gun tucked into a gun scabbard on his back with no idea of where to go. He was simply strolling through the City Center area, watching as the shops went past him.

Clothes, weapons, oriental fish…wait!

Digit doubled back, pressing his masked face against the shop window. The place had been closed down for years, it seemed, yet no one had bought it, despite the lack of space in the city.

Digit slowly went to the try, trying the entry button. The door slid open with a screech, but Digit didn't care. Slowly, he walked inside, pulling his Scatter Gun out. The place was deserted and abandoned, save for the few chairs and tables that lay around. Digit approached the kitchen door, cautiously, and punched the entry button. It opened, and unexpected light flooded his vision. He put a hand up to shield his goggled eyes, then put it back down to find exactly what he was looking for…a sparring room, decked out in the traditional Spargus style, sat where the kitchen and maintenance room should have, so it was rather large. Light streamed in from a few windows in the roof, despite the light rain that echoed through the silent room.

There was no one here.

Digit walked in, slowly, gun at the ready, until he stood in the center of the room.

Still, nothing happened.

He took a chance and called out. "Uh…hello? I'm here for-"

At that moment, something flashed behind him, leaping down from a rafter. Digit only barely caught it, whirling around and firing.

There was nothing there.

Quickly, Digit swung the barrel of the gun up to the rafters to find them also empty. What was going on?

Suddenly, he heard a soft noise, almost directly behind him, and spun again, swinging the barrel of the gun, attempting to hit whatever was back there. The person ducked, then came back up swinging, too fast for Digit to see who it was. He attempted to block the blow, but another came around, knocking him on the head. He swung out, blindly, and the figure leaned to one side as his armored fist passed harmlessly by. As soon as he was off balance, the assailant quickly brought both of their fists into Digit's back, making him fall to the ground. A foot pinned him there, as did the weight of his armor. He heard the sound of a gun being cocked, then felt pressure at the back of his head as his own gun was set against his head. Fear flashed through him, yet he remained silent. After a minute or two, the foot and gun removed, allowing Digit to struggle to his feet. His armor was slightly lighter than the regular Freedom Grunt armor, but it still left a lot to wish for in free movement.

After a second or two to catch his breath, he turned around, intending to meet his merciful opponent…to find _Ashelin,_ of all people, standing there, holding his gun in her hand, a smirk on her face. His goggled eyes widened, then squinted in anger.

Great. Just bloody great. He'd have to fight the bitch with the chip on her shoulder.

Before he could say anything, she tossed him his gun back, saying "You don't beg for mercy. That's good. You just waste breath when you do."

He caught the weapon, tucking it back into the scabbard, saying "Never actually knew anyone who would want to spare me any mercy."

She nodded, then made the most peculiar request he ever heard; "Get undressed."

He blinked a few times, startled. "W-what?"

"Not everything, dumbshit, just your armor."

Her smirk widened.

Great. She was toying with him.

Scowling, Digit began to take off his armor, piece by piece, until all that remained were the boots. He released the clasps that kept the boots tight around his ankles, then slid his feet out. He quickly set the boots on top of the neat pile of his yellow armor, then pushed it all aside. Now, he was only wearing a pair of jeans and a sleeveless T-shirt, since he had expected a workout. It seemed like he was definitely going to get one now.

He turned back to Ashelin, who was watching him, waiting. He'd learned a bit of hand-to-hand in basic training, and those old workouts came rushing back to him.

He took up a defensive stance, one hand held up near his face, then other a little lower, near his stomach. In a flash, Ashelin had also taken a stance, this one on the balls of her feet, ready to strike. Neither moved. Then, Ashelin rushed him, throwing a few punches. Digit managed to block most of them, yet a few of them managed to get to him. Following that, he threw few of his own blows, then a swift kick aimed for the back of her leg. Without looking, Ashelin's hand swooped down and grabbed his ankle, flipping him onto his back before he could react. It took a brief second for him to reorient himself, since he wasn't really expecting to get thrown so quickly, but he scrambled back up, blocking the swift blows that came at him. He threw a punch, which was quickly blocked by her grabbing his wrist; exactly what he'd wanted her to do. He threw a punch with his other hand, intending to throw it at her gut, but as she blocked it, his foot came out, knocking her legs out from under her. She went down, hard, a shocked look on her face. She didn't stay down long, though. As soon as she hit the mat, she'd leapt to her feet and had done a back flip away from him. Again, they were on opposites sides of the room.

To his surprise, she was smiling. It was an actual smile, no sarcasm or smugness in it.

"Good," she commented. "You're faster than I thought. You improvise, can stand blows that should knock a grown man out. I'll have to step it up some if I want to keep from losing."

"Step it up?" panted Digit, sweat running down his brow.

"Yes. I need to teach you that everything can be used as a weapon, not just your gun. Say you're in a street fight, and a Metal Head or KG knocks your gun out of your hands. You're options are still unlimited, as long as there's malleable objects around you. A loose stone in the road, a pipe attached to a wall, the inertia of your armor flying towards your target; anything, and I mean **anything** can be used as a weapon."

She took up a defensive stance.

"Again!" she barked.

Digit groaned inwardly. This was going to be a long three weeks.

(Parting Shot: Notice that I have made names for all the chapters now, just to liven it up some. Oh, and the couples voting poll is still open. I'll only be making two or three more chapters after the training before I get into the love scenes, so vote now!)


End file.
